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Friday, May 23, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
May 2014 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends,
We are glad to report that the ball is really rolling now and that we are gaining more praying friends all the time. We now have over a hundred people subscribing to our prayer letter, and we believe that it is the prayers of these brothers and sisters in Christ, which will ultimately get us to the Bronx and then sustain us while we are there.
We met up with Jon Buker in Virginia Beach
The past couple of months have been busy and blessed. Our travels have ranged from Massachusetts to Florida to Wisconsin. The Lord has blessed us, not only with safe travels, but also with wonderful meetings and excellent hospitality. Being on the road every weekend can be kind of tiring and hard, but so far, we are loving it. The churches which we have visited thus far have been uniquely special in personality and harmoniously one in doctrine. We have fellowshipped with believers in ten churches now and been given great liberty, not only to present our burden for the Bronx but have also seen people respond to the preaching of God’s Word.
We do have three prayer requests for you to bring before the Lord as you read this letter. One is for Bible Baptist Church in Pembroke Pines, Florida, whose pastor went to be with the Lord this April, shortly after we presented our ministry there. Another is for a young man who raised his hand during the invitation in one of our services, indicating his need for the Savior and an interest in being dealt with personally. This young man has been prayed for for some time and witnessed to several times by his friends. Finally, we ask that we would have enough financial support by the end of this year to be able to be on the road visiting churches full time.
Taking Christ to “Da Bronx,”
The Hamilton Family
Ben & Andrea,
Elaine, Nolan, Liberty, and Nehemiah
Praises
-
Full meeting schedule
-
Safety in travel
Prayer Requests
- Bible Baptist Church in Florida, as their pastor recently went to be with the Lord
- Young man who raised his hand for salvation
- Enough financial support by the end of 2014 to enable us to go on full-time deputation
To view/print a PDF version of this prayer letter, please click here.
You can sign up to receive our prayer letters in your email
inbox by visiting this link.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
It’s A City Thing: Subway Numbers
We have this design for our prayer cards and display banner:
Often we asked, “What are all of those numbers and letters? Do they mean something?” It’s a fun conversation to have, and we purposely chose this design for our prayer cards so that it could serve as a conversation starter.
No, they are not just random numbers and letters. And they are not a secret code either! They are the markings for the trains which run through the Bronx.
The New York City subway system has both color and letter/number markings for each train. The color represents the track. Each track may have several trains which run on it, so the letters and numbers distinguish the trains. One train might be express, and the other makes local stops.
In our current neighborhood in Brooklyn, we have the orange track and the N and R trains run on it. The R makes local stops, and the N is express. The two trains also have different beginning and ending points.
There are three subway lines which snake through the Bronx:
- Green line: 4, 5, and 6 trains. This is the line closest to our target neighborhood, Kingsbridge.
- Red line: 1, and 2 trains
- Orange line: B and D trains
{click to enlarge}
Map of the Bronx subway system. White dots are express stops; black dots are local stops. A line connecting two stops indicates an underground walkway between train stations.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Bethel Baptist Church
On Sunday, March 30th, we had a meeting at Bethel Baptist Church in Sellersville, PA. This was a special meeting for me because Pastor Rob Campbell was my youth pastor in Colorado. When we came to the youth group at Highlands I was a sophomore in high school. I made many important life decisions as God used the preaching of His Word and the emphasis on ministry/service to convict my heart and guide my steps. I was a junior in high school when I surrendered to vocational ministry, and shortly thereafter I felt the Lord’s call to the mission field. I feel very blessed to have been under the ministry of the Campbell’s during those vital teen years!
I was still in college when the Campbell’s moved to Pennsylvania to take the pastorship of Bethel Baptist Church. I haven’t seen the Campbell’s since I have been married. (We stopped for a brief visit after my college graduation, and I had just become engaged to Ben). It was so nice to see them again!
My family with Rochelle and Rob Campbell
One of my college roommates, Shannon Trull, also lives in the area. She stopped by for the afternoon service to say hello and meet the twins!
Shannon was trying to make friends with Liberty. Liberty doesn’t realize how much she owes to Shannon…her treasured bunny was a gift from Shannon when the twins were born!
Cedars of Lebanon & Cornerstone Baptist
On March 16 we had a deputation meeting at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Oakdale, CT. We were privileged to stay with Sam & Amy Smith in Lebanon, CT.
The Smiths have a hobby dairy goat farm called the Cedars of Lebanon. The kids had a fantastic time being out of the City and in the woods! There were one week old baby goats that we enjoyed
I found out that goats usually have twins, and sometimes have triplets. I felt very thankful to only have twins!
New to the Cedars of Lebanon this year is a sugar house, so Ben got to help collect sap for the maple syrup!
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit at Cornerstone. The people were very friendly and encouraging. I had a great time getting to know several people as we discussed the things of God. Elaine was welcomed by several new friends (she LOVES making new friends), and even got to practice with the Children’s Choir. It was a wonderful Sunday in God’s house!
Friday, March 7, 2014
March 2014 Prayer Letter & Update
It is with a feeling of “fullness” that we write to you this month. As we reflect on the events of the last couple of months, we can see God filling our lives in several areas.
Full Suitcases
In January we dusted off our suitcases and officially began our deputation ministry. Our very first meeting was at Trinity Baptist Church in Keysville, VA. We had a wonderful week at their missions conference! The Lord answered several prayer requests, and even gave us a surprise extra meeting on our way home. He also provided specifically for our travel expenses through these two churches. We even learned a few things about packing for deputation along the way.
Full Schedule
The Lord has blessed us by filling our schedule more quickly than we had anticipated. We will be on the road for most weekends in March and April. We also have several summer meetings and a Fall that is filling up rapidly. We covet your prayers for safety with all the miles that we will travel this year!
Full Hearts
God has done some special things to confirm to our family that we are on the right path. He has abundantly and amazingly provided for our needs this year. Ben is still working during the week and we are traveling on the weekends. However, there have been several weeks when work has been scarce, or when we have traveled during the week and had no income. God has stepped in and met each need – from the large need of paying our rent, to the small need of providing specific baby items and necessities. What an awesome God we serve!
Taking Christ to “Da Bronx”,
The Hamilton Family
Ben & Andrea,
Elaine, Nolan, Liberty, and Nehemiah
Praises
-
Full meeting schedule
-
God’s amazing provision for our daily needs
Prayer Requests
-
Safety in travel
-
More meetings to fill the summer and fall months
To view/print a PDF version of this prayer letter, please click here.
You can sign up to receive our prayer letters in your email
inbox by visiting this link.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Display Table
Another missionary offered us a great piece of advice when it came to our display table – make everything “kid friendly.” The kids love to be around the table and handle everything, and it will help if it is not breakable! We endeavored to follow this advice with our table. Here is Elaine and Nolan in front of the table at Bible Baptist Church in Leola, PA on Wednesday night.
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